American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

For a man who insisted that life on the public stage was not what he had in mind, Thomas Jefferson certainly spent a great deal of time in the spotlight, even in his retirement. In American Sphinx, Ellis sifts the facts from the legend to find the heart of the man who, at the grass roots, is no longer liberal or conservative, agrarian or industrialist, pro- or anti-slavery, privileged or populist.

His Excellency: George Washington

Acclaimed author Joseph J. Ellis penned the National Book Award-winning American Sphinx and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Founding Brothers, a fixture on The New York Times best seller list for an entire year, and one of the most popular history books of all time. Now this master historian turns his attention to the most exalted American hero, Founding Father and first President George Washington.

The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789

From Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian Joseph J. Ellis, the unexpected story of why the 13 colonies, having just fought off the imposition of a distant centralized governing power, would decide to subordinate themselves anew.

The Red Flag: A History of Communism

In The Red Flag, Oxford professor David Priestland tells the epic story of a movement that has taken root in dozens of countries across 200 years, from its birth after the French Revolution to its ideological maturity in 19th-century Germany to its rise to dominance (and subsequent fall) in the 20th century.

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

A New York Times best seller, Founding Brothers is an engrossing work of nonfiction from National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Joseph J. Ellis. It is a book that uncovers the substance behind many of our most cherished historical tales. Here are six fascinating, well-researched chapters involving such icons as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.

Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams

John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers of our nation and its second president, spent nearly the last third of his life in retirement, grappling with contradictory views of his place in history and fearing his reputation would not fare well in the generations after his death. And indeed, future generations did slight him, elevating Jefferson and Madison to lofty heights while Adams remained way back in the second tier.

James Madison: A Life Reconsidered

This majestic new biography of James Madison explores the astonishing story of a man of vaunted modesty who audaciously changed the world. Among the Founding Fathers, Madison was a true genius of the early republic. Outwardly reserved, Madison was the intellectual driving force behind the Constitution and crucial to its ratification. His visionary political philosophy and rationale for the union of states - so eloquently presented in The Federalist papers - helped shape the country Americans live in today.

Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence

The summer months of 1776 witnessed the most consequential events in the story of our country’s founding. While the thirteen colonies came together and agreed to secede from the British Empire, the British were dispatching the largest armada ever to cross the Atlantic to crush the rebellion in the cradle. The Continental Congress and the Continental Army were forced to make decisions on the run, improvising as history congealed around them. In a brilliant and seamless narrative, Ellis meticulously examines the most influential figures in this propitious moment, including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Britain’s Admiral Lord Richard and General William Howe. He weaves together the political and military experiences as two sides of a single story, and shows how events on one front influenced outcomes on the other.

Revolutionary Summer tells an old story in a new way, with a freshness at once colorful and compelling.

The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness

In this lively and compelling biography, Harlow Giles Unger reveals the dominant political figure of a generation. A fierce fighter in four critical Revolutionary War battles and a courageous survivor of Valley Forge and a near-fatal wound at the Battle of Trenton, James Monroe (1751 - 1831) went on to become America's first full-time politician, dedicating his life to securing America's national and international durability.

James Madison and the Making of America

In James Madison and the Making of America, historian Kevin Gutzman looks beyond the way James Madison is traditionally seen - as "The Father of the Constitution” - to find a more complex and sometimes contradictory portrait of this influential Founding Father and the ways in which he influenced the spirit of today's United States.

American Creation

From the first shots fired at Lexington to the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, Joseph J. Ellis guides us through the decisive issues of the nation's founding, and illuminates the emerging philosophies, shifting alliances, and personal and political foibles of our now iconic leaders: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Adams.

First Family: Abigail & John Adams

John and Abigail Adams left an indelible and remarkably preserved portrait of their lives together in their personal correspondence: both Adamses were prolific letter writers (although John conceded that Abigail was clearly the more gifted of the two). Joseph J. Ellis distills this unprecedented and unsurpassed record to give us an account both intimate and panoramic; part biography, part political history, and part love story.

Alexander Hamilton

Ron Chernow, whom the New York Times called "as elegant an architect of monumental histories as we've seen in decades", now brings to startling life the man who was arguably the most important figure in American history, who never attained the presidency, but who had a far more lasting impact than many who did.

Washington: A Life

In Washington: A Life celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation. This crisply paced narrative carries the reader through his troubled boyhood, his precocious feats in the French and Indian War, his creation of Mount Vernon, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president.

John Adams

McCullough's John Adams has the sweep and vitality of a great novel. This is history on a grand scale, an audiobook about politics, war, and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, it is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.

John Quincy Adams: American Visionary

In this fresh and lively biography rich in literary analysis and new historical detail, Fred Kaplan brings into focus the dramatic life of John Quincy Adams - the little known and much misunderstood sixth president of the United States and the first son of John and Abigail Adams - and persuasively demonstrates how Adams's inspiring, progressive vision guided his life and helped shape the course of America.

An Honest President: The Life and Presidencies of Grover Cleveland

Today Grover Cleveland is mainly remembered as the only president to be elected to two non-consecutive terms. But in his day, Cleveland was a renowned reformer, an enemy of political machines who joined forces with Theodore Roosevelt to fight powerful party bosses, a moralist who vetoed bills he considered blatant raids on the Treasury, a vigorous defender of the Monroe Doctrine who resisted American imperialism.

Reagan: The Life

Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.

Rutherford B. Hayes

The similarities between the controversial elections of 1876 and 2000 have brought Rutherford B. Hayes back into public memory. In 1876, Hayes's opponent, Samuel Tilden, won the popular vote and led the Electoral College, but when the returns in some states were disputed, a special electoral commission handed the presidency to Hayes. Historian Hans L. Trefousse recounts the obstacles, triumphs, and real legacy of Hayes' presidency.

Their Last Full Measure: The Final Days of the Civil War

As the Confederacy steadily crumbled under the Union army's relentless hammering, dramatic developments in early 1865 brought the bloody war to a swift climax and denouement. Their Last Full Measure relates these thrilling events, which followed one another like falling dominoes - from Fort Fisher's capture to the burning of South Carolina's capital to the fall of Petersburg and Richmond and, ultimately, to Lee's surrender at Appomattox and Lincoln's assassination.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad.

John Marshall: The Chief Justice Who Saved the Nation

A soul-stirring biography of John Marshall, the young Republic's great chief justice who led the Supreme Court to power and brought law and order to the nation. In the political turmoil that convulsed America after George Washington's death, the surviving Founding Fathers went mad - literally pummeling each other in Congress and challenging one another to deadly duels in their quest for power. Out of the political intrigue, one man emerged to restore calm and dignity to the government: John Marshall.

Rights of Man

Rights of Man presents an impassioned defense of the Enlightenment principles of freedom and equality that Thomas Paine believed would soon sweep the world. He boldly claimed, "From a small spark, kindled in America, a flame has arisen, not to be extinguished. Without consuming...it winds its progress from nation to nation."

The Wright Brothers

Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize David McCullough tells the dramatic story behind the story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly: Wilbur and Orville Wright.

On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright's Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard. The Age of Flight had begun. How did they do it? And why?

Publisher's Summary

National Book Award, Nonfiction, 1997

For a man who insisted that life on the public stage was not what he had in mind, Thomas Jefferson certainly spent a great deal of time in the spotlight, even in his retirement. In his twilight years, Jefferson was already taking on the luster of a national icon, which was polished off by his auspicious death on July 4, 1826.

In American Sphinx, Ellis sifts the facts from the legend to find the heart of the man who, at the grass roots, is no longer liberal or conservative, agrarian or industrialist, pro- or anti-slavery, privileged or populist. A man who sang incessantly under his breath; who spent ten hours a day during his presidency at his writing desk; and who sometimes found his political sensibilities colliding with his domestic agenda; who exhibited great depth and great shallowness, combined massive learning with extraordinary naïveté, and should neither be beatified nor forgotten.

What the Critics Say

"Ellis does not have an agenda to promote; he has a story to tell, and he tells it well. In a book that reads like fiction, he combines exciting plot turns with information." (School Library Journal)"The richly documented life of Jefferson holds endless fascination....This set should be a lasting favorite in popular biography collections, especially in the South. Warmly recommended." (Library Journal)"Penetrating Jefferson's placid, elegant facade, this extraordinary biography brings the sage of Monticello down to earth without either condemning or idolizing him." (Publishers Weekly)

Literally hundreds of "skips" throughout the entire recording, usually occurring every 1 or two minutes. I should have paid attention to prior reviews. Based on the fact that this recording is still available after those reviews, there is obviously no quality control from either audible.com or Blackstone. Save your credit until this is replaced with an updated version.

A revealing and honest look at one of our "Founding Fathers". Ellis reveals Jefferson as a complex and some what tragic figure. As with Ellis's "His Excellency" about George Washington, we learn so much more about the human side of these gifted but human men.The ruthless politics of today seems tame compared to the politics of this(Washington,Jefferson, Adams, Burr, Hamilton) historic time.

I was initially looking for a historical biography of Jefferson, but other than the 100+ hr multi-volume set and a few very short (less than 10 hr) audiobooks, this seemed to be the best that Audible had. It is not a historical biography, but an analysis of Jefferson's ideology along the historical timeline of his life. In other words, you DO get some historical information and context, but not a lot more than you may have already known if you've read John Adams by David McCullough and Washington; A Life by Ron Chernow.

That said, I felt the insights provided were fascinating, especially since there is such a contrast between the writings of Jefferson, Adams and Washington. Adams was so direct, Washington said as much with what he did NOT say as with what he DID, while Jefferson's sincerity at times seems to clash with a tendency to downplay disagreements he may have with the intended reader. Obviously this is seen when slavery is mentioned in his correspondence with fellow Virginians and with others opposed to the institution, but this was also evident in his political disagreements with Adams. Even while Adams, after the resurrection of their correspondence later in life, tried to entice him into debate on subjects of prior disagreement, Jefferson often avoided those subjects even though there is no evidence to suggest he had changed his mind on those issues; this, to me, leaves open speculation as to how such a debate would have played out. That is for our imagination only, unfortunately.

Other listeners have noted audio problems which I also experienced. I'm not familiar with recording equipment but to me it sounded like an overly sensitive microphone which mutes harsh syllables. For example words like "port," "continent," or "book" sound instead like "ort," "ontinent," or "ook." Annoying and distracting, yes, but they did not prevent me from understanding or enjoying the book. The only thing I can compare it to is if an individual with impaired speech were to narrate an audiobook. Despite this issue, I feel that the price paid for this audiobook was money well spent.

The book is great. The speaker, Susan O'Malley, speaks well, but Blackstone, the producer of this book, did a horrible job in editing this. There are little hiccups throughout the entire production. I've already complained to Audible about this, and when Audible asked, specifically what the problem was I told them to read through all the reviews to understand. Maybe Audible should demand a new file from Blackstone or something, but the quality is poor and the reason it didn't get a higher rating was because of those hiccups.

That aside, yes, the book is a very interesting read. Still trying to figure out how hypocritical Mr. Jefferson is on the slavery issue. If I could go back in time, he'd be one of the people I'd most like to meet, even more so now after listening to this book.

Now, please, for the benefit of future listeners, fix the !@$#!@!@ hiccups!

The text of the book is fascinating as I have come to expect from Joeseph J. Ellis and Susan O'Malley does a wonderful job narrating. However, either the audiobook editing (or perhaps the audible compression) is horrendous. Every couple minutes a second or so is missing from the soundtrack making you guess the words that were supposed to be there. It takes a lot of patience to listen to, even though I'd really like to listen to the book.

The contents of this book are quite thrilling, the reading by Mrs. O'Malley leaves a lot to be desired. Ellis does an excellent job in some fascinating tidbits of Jefferson’s life. The preface is also excellent reading in that Ellis goes into the reason for his book and at what angle his is coming from. I have read other books from Ellis and I consider him a Top historian, but the reading is so dry and boring if it wasn’t for the gems hidden inside I would actually not listen at all.
Ellis goes into the deeper side of Jefferson and try’s through educated guesses (which are very entertaining as well as interesting) and comes to some very good conclusions. I would suggest this book to anyone, but be forewarned of the dry reading.

BUY THE BOOK, AVOID THE AUDIO BOOK. The text is excellent, but the reader is horrible. She rushes the text, ignores punctuations and lacks inflection. Their is also a very annoying skip in the recording.

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